«Everybody has a chance»

Vika is an attractive and energetic young woman. She is 25, lives in Moscow and is a manager’s assistant in a large pharmaceutical company.
Vika could afford to spend half an hour during lunch-break for an interview and I met her in a cozy cafe in the central part of the city. From the first moment of our talk I realized that this was a person who knew what she wanted.
Three years ago Vika graduated from the Moscow University, Department of Chemistry. When she was a student her mother was a help with money. Then she entered graduate school, but at that time her mother lost her job, so Vika had to start to make a living by herself. She managed to get a position in a large pharmaceutical company where she has been working for two years now. At first she tried to reconcile her work and graduate school but soon found out that she had neither time, nor energy for it.

Corr. It’s far from easy to change your life course and fulfill yourself in a different area. Was it a pity to leave science?

Vika: Yes, of course, when I left graduate school I was sorry to abandon the work to which I devoted several years of my life. During the time of study I was fully dedicated to my calling. But then there came a moment when I had to change something. I live in the present, and today I don’t see myself as a scientist at all. These days clear head and good hands are not enough to make new discoveries. Nowadays a chemist needs also a lot of expensive equipment and chemicals. I doubt that they will be available in our research institutes in the coming years. I like the work I do now. The main thing is, I have achieved independence.

Corr. Do you think that any person can achieve material well being, or does one need any special qualities for that?

Vika: Everybody has a chance. Of course, if you are already 35 and don’t have a suitable education, it is hard to make a business career. But one can always fulfill oneself in some other area. My mother, for instance, was a computer specialist all her life but lost her job when she was 50. Today she is working in a company in an absolutely different field. And although her position and salary are much more modest than the previous ones, she’s got enough for respectable life.
To my mind it’s very important to give a good account of oneself. If my acquaintances know me as a responsible and never-failing person they will be sure to help me find a good job. People’s upbringing or maybe some other reasons don’t allow them to change anything in their lives; they believe unlucky circumstances to be the reason for their troubles. Such a position is doomed to failure. We are living in this particular time and this country, so we have to adjust in some way.

Corr. What helps you to reach your aims?

Vika: First of all, it’s my mother’s upbringing. I grew up in an incomplete family (just the two of us), we had a lot of hardships and I used to sense it even as a small child. But those hardships seemed to temper me and taught me to find my own way out of any situation.

Corr. Many people believe that family is the main thing a woman needs to be happy. What do you think about it?

Vika: It’s difficult to say because I don’t have my own family yet, though I hope I’ll have it sometime. Anyway, self-actualization and financial freedom are very important for me. So I won’t become a housewife even if I marry a well-off person. I wouldn’t be satisfied by a role of nurse or food-processor. I am not a social climber and could make some concessions for my family, but I would like the man who will be close to me to respect my interests.

Corr. When you have a child, how are you going to bring it up?

Vika: I want to give him or her a chance to find oneself as early as possible. All the more so if it will be a girl, because for girls things are more complicated. Of course I will try to give my child as much as I can. But to my mind, one shouldn’t sacrifice one’s life to bring up a child. The first reason for it is that it has negative impact on a child itself and complicates his or her relationship with the parents. When parents give away to children everything they have they believe their children to be ready to make equal sacrifices. If this doesn’t happen there will be mutual feelings of irritation and resentment. I will do my best for my child to become a strong and independent person, in the first place. Occupation and the way to live will be his or her own choice.
Vika doesn’t rest on her laurels; she has recently become a student of the American College of Business and Economy. It is a paid school that's why Vika could afford just a course of English so far. In future she is planning to take up marketing and advertising. She says she does not count on any positive changes in Russian economy but thinks that large companies will stay afloat. And this means she will keep her chances…

Interview conducted by Anna Vasilyeva